Advanced Search

Keep guns out of the wrong hands

9:00 a.m. EDT, August 7, 2013

As was made clear in your recent article about some gun dealers who are selling firearms before background checks can be performed by state police, most gun dealers are waiting for the process to be completed — as they should be doing ("Guns released to buyers with criminal histories," Aug. 1).

This problem will be fully resolved when the Firearms Safety Act takes effect Oct. 1. From then, a gun dealer will not be able to sell a handgun to anyone unless that person has first gone through a thorough, fingerprint-based background check and obtained a license to purchase handguns from the Maryland State Police.

This is another way, besides deterring people from buying guns for criminals, that the O'Malley-Brown administration's gun-violence prevention law will keep guns out of the wrong hands and save lives.